The Punishment
by Pohatu
Summary: Takes place before the Academy. Auriok has been selected out of the other students in his class for punishment.


The wind whistled through the small slits in the walls that acted as ventilation and, minorly, as windows. A young elf, each step hesitant, looked around as he moved, biting on his lower lip a bit. Pausing in the front of a door, he peered up at it, tilting his head to the side. Pulling a small piece of paper from under his belt, he flipped it open, his glowing green eyes easily reading the description written upon it. Peering up at the door again, he nodded slowly, his uneven red hair bobbing slightly with the motion. "This must be it...."

His voice sounded small, weak, clearly scared of what was ahead of him. Tucking the piece of paper back where it had been, he reached up with both hands and pulled the door open. Wincing as he heard the door's groan, the squeaking of the hinges adding to the sound, the small boy released the door as it swung the rest of the way open. Peering inside, he bit his lower lip for a moment before leaning in more. "Hello?..."

Two sets of arms suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into the room, the door swung shut by a third person. Slammed into a chair he couldn't quite see the near-darkness, the young elf let out a short cry, fighting against his holds briefly. His movements ceased as he felt a mouth beside his ear, the voice accompanying it rough and deep. "If you wish to even live through this night, fighting should be the last thing you have the instinct to do, Auriok."

Ceasing his movements, young Auri shivered as he felt leather straps wrapped around each forearm, his wrists tilted up to fully exposed. As his arms were bound, his legs were bound in the same fashion, fully immobilizing him. Gazing around, the young knight in training could see three sets of glowing green eyes, mentally noting that they were likely Blood Elves, just as he. "Why ha--"

"No questions from you if you wish to leave this room." A second voice said, two sets of the eyes disappearing behind Auri, the second voice staying in front of him. Another shiver ran down the younger elf's spine as he heard the familiar ring of metal as a blade was drawn.

"You forgot to run the last lap during training today." The first voice was behind him again, a hand upon his shoulder causing Auri's nerves to jump even more.

"It's also said that you didn't follow the exact set of stances given for the kata today." A third voice murmured this as another hand rested on his other shoulder.

"I was trying out a few stances I had thought of last night. My sparring partner seem impressed by them." Auri's voice lacked any sort of confidence, his small body almost constantly shivering now.

"It was through things such as small alterations that has lead to our race being as it is. To prevent the uprise of another Kael'thas, we must lay down punishments." The first voice was beside him now, though the hand hadn't left his shoulder. Turning his head, the glow from the younger elf's eyes caused a blade to be revealed.

"It is through fear that the Blood Knight order has began to rule, and it is through fear that we shall continue to rule." The third voice was also beside him, a similar glint of a blade seen as Auri's head snapped to the side.

"I'll go run the lap now, then! I'll do the exact kata right now, under your supervision!" The young elf's arms strained against his bonds a bit, vein's popping up as he attempted to pull free.

"If you wish for this to be less painful, you'd be better off relaxing." The second voice was directly in front of him now, the glow from his eyes being so bright due to proximity that the youngest of the small group could actually see the pupil of his elder's eyes.

Gulping, Auri forced himself to relax, the veins slowly disappearing again. Waiting until they had, the twin blades then slipped down, the tips just barely pricking the outside edge of each wrist. Whimpering as he felt blood welling up from the wounds, the young elf wiggled his fingers. "There...am I free to go?"

"No." The second voice had a sharp edge to it as he reached up and gripped Auri's chin, forcing their eyes to again meet. "There's also word going around that you have began to gain enemies amongst your classmates. One in particular that you apparently have a hatred for?"

"Seradra..." The small elf cowered back from the imposing face, attempting to pull his chin away. "He follows orders less closely than I do."

"And yet you're the one that's here, taking the punishment. Not him. Tell us how this is." The second voice was accusatory, challenging.

"He's a brown nose, attempting to get the teacher to pay as much attention as he can to him, and not to anyone else. He does that with EVERY teacher. I just go in there to learn." Auri's voice had began to gain confidence again, but the pressure of the blade pressing into the same spots again caused him to cry out.

"Don't challenge our authority, initiate, nor the authority of your teachers. You're the one that was seen as needing this, not Seradra." The second voice, apparently the leader of the punishment, finally released his hold on the small elf's chin and stood up to his full height. The familiar ring of a sword being drawn was heard, the blade then being placed in front of the student's eyes. "Two more marks is that we are required to give you. If you fight against us, if you cry out, or if you attempt to lay the blame elsewhere, it will be more. Understood?"

"Yes'sir..." Auri's voice had grown weak again as he closed his eyes, tilting his head away. Whimpering as the blade was pressed first against one wrist, then the other, the young elf simply pressed his finger tips into his palm, doing his best to ignore the pain. Gasping as the steel was pulled away, the initiate turned his head around again, peering up at the owner of the second voice, tears evident in his eyes. "Have I served my punishment?"

"Yes." The first and third voice said in unison, the straps upon Auri's wrists quickly coming undone. Pulling said appendages close to his torso, the smallest of the group stood up as he felt his legs unstrapped. The second voice wrapped an arm around the initiate, ushering him to the door.

Pausing as he opened the door, the second voice squatted down, placing his mouth close to Auri's ear. "I wish not to see you here again. Go through the training as is needing to be done. Do nothing to draw attention to yourself. Seradra should have been here, but I am merely one voice amongst many. Part of being a knight is timing. Remember this lesson."

Tilting his head to look at the owner of the second voice, the initiate frowned, but nodded. Standing up, the second voice opened the door, pushing the younger elf outside. "They are merely flesh wounds. Make sure to wear the bracers that have been provided for you. Now go."

As the door was slammed shut in his face, Auri turned and walked back down the hallway he had come from. Pulling his wrists away from his tunic, ignoring the blood that had been left there, the small red head gazed at the small slits that had been lift. "This is the punishment of the Blood Knights?" His voice was small, barely a whisper, as his looked at his wounds. Finally, shaking his head, he reached into his pockets and pulled out the training leather bracers they had been given. Slipping them on over his wounded wrists, Auri winced ever so slightly as the rough material made contact with the open wound.

"Merely flesh wounds. They'll seal up." Taking a shakey breath, the initiate continued on, moving down the hallway that his dormitory was connected to.


End file.
